This is the eighth edition of this publication, and I am thrilled to share with all of you the many stories that make our college one of the best of the country. I am proud of the quality of our faculty, students and staff.
Creating new knowledge and sharing it with our students and the public is a team effort, and I am always gratified to see how committed our team is to making a difference in our community and the world.
The research articles in this special College of Science showcase exemplify this commitment. Our researchers are interested in understanding our universe and our place in it and how we can have better lives from their discoveries.
The rate of change in our understanding of our physical, biological and digital world is nothing short of amazing.
Perhaps the most explosive changes are occurring in the digital universe, which is why we chose to have this year’s College of Science lecture series on machine learning and artificial intelligence.
There is no doubt that computer scientists are changing the world as we know it; specifically, with deep consequences about how we interact with one another and with machines.
The digital revolution is also affecting how we do medicine, how we study our universe and how our economies will operate.
In fact, we live in a time that some call the fourth industrial revolution. Many jobs that we do will no longer exist in 10 years, and jobs that are now difficult to imagine will be created.
This revolution will greatly affect the mission of our college and university. That is, we need to educate our students in ways that assure they will be the future leaders of enterprises that are yet unknown.
Furthermore, we need to continuously inform the general public of the scientific and technological breakthroughs that will bring complexity to our existing public policies. This is a fascinating challenge that we welcome.
The College of Science has benefited from great support from our community. We are deeply grateful for this as it inspires us to strive for excellence.
Thank you again for your support, and please do take advantage of the many informative programs we offer the community.
These programs include science cafes, the College of Science lecture series, programs at Biosphere 2 and the Mount Lemmon Science Center, apps for those who walk Tumamoc Hill or drive up the Catalina Mountains, and the interactive activities and open houses at Science City, part of the annual Tucson Festival of Books.
If you would like to know more about our outreach programs, please visit cos.arizona.edu/connections
Joaquin Ruiz
